Saskatoon Cycles July 2020 Newsletter

Saskatoon family tackling new adventures, cycling goals through virtual club rides: #BikingStories

When Aaron Dennis snagged a sweet deal on a bike for his son last winter, he had no idea it would be seeing such big mileage this spring. “It was sort of serendipitous. We were at Bruce’s (Cycle Works) and found a cyclocross bike, a used one, small frame, and the price looked good,” says Dennis. “I thought ‘I guess he’ll probably use it.’ I didn’t expect he’d be using it quite this much.” Since COVID-19 struck in mid-March, and the snow melted, Aaron, an electrical engineer with Microchip, and his 12-year-old son Evan have logged more than 300 kms of riding together, participating in “A Series of Detours,” the virtual version of Bike Doctor’s Detours adventure cycling club.  Read the full story.

Slow Roll led by Joanne Cliff

Joanne Cliff, the Saskatoon cyclist who recently completed her quest to ride every street in the city, has agreed to lead a Slow Roll for us. She will take a group of about 20 riders on a tour of some of the top treasures she discovered while travelling yxe’s streets, avenues, and crescents. The date and more details will be coming soon: Watch our social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). To keep our group size within public health guidelines, we’ll be asking people to register in advance. Joanne says the pace and distance will be easy enough for even the newest rider.

Call for Board members for 2020-2021

Want to help advocate for safe, accessible cycling for all ages and abilities? Consider joining our Board of Directors for next year. It’s not a huge time commitment: Monthly meetings and some project work in between meetings. To express your interest or find out more details, contact our Chair Cathy Watts by phone (306-664-3908) or email (ctwatts@sasktel.net). Our AGM is in November.

Doug’s Spoke N’ Sport is newest Friend of Cycling

Doug’s Spoke N’ Sport is the latest Saskatoon merchant to show their support for our work by becoming a Friend of Cycling. Thank you to Jay and his team. We appreciate the vote of confidence in our efforts. Be sure to give them your bike-buying business, and tell them you appreciate their support for cycling in yxe.

Returning bikes to their rightful owners

Do you know someone who has had their bike stolen, but got it back through the Saskatoon Police Service’s “Get my bike back” registration service? We’d like to promote the benefits of registering bikes and the work our city police do to return bikes to their owners. If you have a bike theft story with a happy ending, please send it our way.

And speaking of bike theft…

Check out this YouTube video from Global Mountain Bike Network, called How to Lock Your Bike In Town | GMBN Tech’s Guide To Urban Bike Security.

Keeping our streets safe

You may have noticed some new uniformed officers riding around the downtown, Riversdale, and Broadway area. They are not police officers, but rather members of the Saskatoon’s Community Support Program — and they’re working hard to help keep us all safe. The program is funded by the Downtown BID. We’re hoping to tell some of their “good news” stories.

Thank you to our supporters

We are so grateful for the donations that we have received lately. With our two main fundraisers — Bike Valet and Used Bike Sale and Expo — cancelled this year because of the pandemic, your financial support is now more important than ever.

If you are an older adult who recently received $300 from the federal government but don’t need it, consider donating to one of the bike non-profits in Saskatoon. Both Saskatoon Cycles and the Bridge City Bike Co-op  work so hard to use their voice for safe cycling for all ages and abilities and ensuring everyone has access to a bicycle. You can donate to either organization through our websites. Any amount is welcome.

Open Streets

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a long stretch of street open for the people to ride bikes, walk, dance, skateboard, and more, on Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm? Called Sunday Streets or Cyclovia, these safe spaces are common in many communities in North America and Europe. Just imagine what it would be like to experience the city in a quiet and joyful way. If you’d like to help organize or volunteer for this sort of event, please send us a note (info@saskatooncycles.ca). This is something we could plan and look forward to for spring or summer 2021.

Had an incident on your bike?

If you’ve hit a pothole, been harassed by a vehicle, had a collision with another rider or car, or experienced a near miss, why not contribute to a crowdsourcing effort to identify hot spots. Register your experience at bikemaps.org